Houston’s murder tally stable despite rise in early 2016

According to Houston police data, the total murder tally in the area in 2016 was 302 murders, which is one less than in 2015. However, the statistic is still higher than the five-year average.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, in a press statement released on Wednesday, January 4, said the Houston Police Department transferred 175 police officers to patrol duties from administrative duties.

Art Acevedo said he will make it a point to thoroughly conduct investigations on felonies to crack down on murders this year. The new police chief plans to focus more on felonies than minor drug offenses. Acevedo noted “When people are shooting people, we need to treat that as if it were a murder, because the person that commits an aggravated assault today is the same person that’s going to commit a murder.”

He will partner with Harris County’s newly installed criminal justice leaders, District Attorney Kim Ogg and Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, on a cite-and-release program for low-level drug offenses.

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